Question

Nursing/Microbiology Question:

1. How could you differentiate between the common childhood skin rashes?
2. Why are the multidrug resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus a major concern for health care facilities?
3. How can health care workers contribute to good antibiotic stewardship?
4. What features of Pseudomonas aeruginosa make it a major concern for health care facilities?
5. How are primary Gram smears used to assess skin infections?

Answer 1

Because childhood rashes may be difficult to differentiate by appearance alone, it is important to consider the entire clinical presentation to help make the appropriate diagnosis. Considerations include the appearance and location of the rash; the clinical course; and associated symptoms, such as pruritus or fever. A fever is likely to occur with roseola, erythema infectiosum (fifth disease), and scarlet fever. Pruritus sometimes occurs with atopicdermatitis

These bacteria may infect humans and animals, and the infections they cause are harder to treat than those caused by non-resistant bacteria. Antibiotic resistanceleads to higher medical costs, prolongedhospital stays, and increased mortality

Antimicrobial stewardship is a coordinated program that promotes the appropriate use of antimicrobials (including antibiotics), improves patient outcomes, reduces microbial resistance, and decreases the spread ofinfections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms.

P. aeruginosa exploits weaknesses in host defence to mount an infection. Indeed, P. aeruginosa is the epitome of an opportunistic pathogen of humans. The bacterium hardly infects uncompromised tissues, but it can invade any tissue beleaguered by immunodeficiency. P. aeruginosa causes infection in the urinary tract, respiratory system, dermis, soft tissue, bacteraemia, bone and joint, gastrointestine and blood, particularly in patients with severe burns, tuberculosis, cancer and AIDS. Importantly, P. aeruginosa causes a significant problem in patients hospitalized

it is applied in a very thin layer to a glass slide. A series of different colored stains is applied to the sample. The stained slide is examined under a microscope to check for bacteria. The color, size, shape, and organization of the cells help identifythe germ causing the infection.